The Promise
by feed-the-birdss
Summary: Mr. Evans makes twelve-year-old Lily a promise to never let her marry James Potter.


**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize isn't mine. **

"Daddy?" twelve-year-old Lily asked quietly.

"Yes sweetheart?" responded Mr. Evans not looking up from his newspaper.

"Daddy, you need to promise me, from the bottom of your heart, that you will never let me marry James Potter, and I mean _never, _can you do that?" declared Lily.

Mr. Evans just chuckled, "Sure thing darling," he said somewhat absentmindedly as his eyes still moved across the page of his paper.

Lily got up, walked around the kitchen table, and ripped the paper right out of his hands. "Daddy this is serious! PROMISE me, you will never let me marry him. I mean it. It can never happen. If I wanted to marry him, it would mean I've gone crazy!" Mr. Evans stared at his youngest daughter with wide-eyed concern over her absolute resolve. Her bright green eyes, so much like his own, were piercing his soul, begging for his help, and he could never refuse his little girl when she was looking at him like such. "Promise me," she repeated.

"I promise."

As a Gryffindor, James Potter was rarely nervous even though there was plenty in his life he should be nervous about. Fighting in a deadly war with his girlfriend and best friends—easy—the other side were a pack of idiots. Telling Sirius that he damaged his bike snogging Lily up against it and knocking it over—please—that would be more funny than anything. Running around with a werewolf every month as an illegal Animagus—don't make him laugh—a child could do that—heck—he did it as a child. Disobeying Alastor Moody—if he can handle an angry McGonagall, Moody looks like a teacup pig next to her.

However, it was one of those rare times that James Potter was nervous. After apparating from his flat, he walked up to a simple looking house in Cokeworth. It was dark out, so he could only just make out the shadows of the perfectly manicured shrubbery out front. Stuffing his wand in his pocket, and using his hand to, once more, attempt to tame his hair a bit more, he held a knuckle up to the door, knocked, and then took a deep breath.

You see, there was only one thing in his life that ever made James Potter nervous: Lily Evans. He'd gotten past the nerves for, you know, just generally being in her presence after a year of dating, and this year has made him realize that he always wanted to be in her general presence—for the rest of his life if he could help it. So that's why he's here, outside the Evans' house, with a speech in his head, and butterflies in his stomach. He was going to ask for Mr. and Mrs. Evans' blessing to marry their youngest daughter.

After a few agonizingly silent seconds, James heard some shuffling behind the door followed by the knob turning and the door opening to reveal Mr. Evans.

"James? What are you doing here? Is Lily okay?" Asked Mr. Evans eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"Lily's perfect sir, but she is the reason why I'm here. Would it be alright if I came in to speak to you and Mrs. Evans?" James was surprised with the steadiness of his voice given the fact that the butterflies in his stomach turned to bludgers the second the door opened.

Mr. Evans' eyes widened slightly. James was pretty sure he was catching on. "Uh…sure son, let me just find her. Make yourself comfortable in the living room in the meantime."

James nodded and made the familiar walk to the living room while Mr. Evans scurried upstairs to find his wife. Sitting down on the plushy floral patterned couch, James tried to control his racing heart by taking deep breaths. He couldn't help but crave a shot or two of fire whiskey to take the edge off, but Sirius refused to let him even look at alcohol before coming here citing his so-called low tolerance. Sure one shot in the past has made James do and say incredibly stupid things, but at least he was able to do those stupid things without bludgers pummelling around inside his stomach.

He was starting to wonder if what he was about to do was another stupid thing in the long list of stupid things he's done in his life. Now he's back to having the same argument with himself that he's been having for the last seven weeks—should he be asking for the Evans' blessing? For one, Lily does what she wants regardless of what anyone else thinks. Two, she does not like aspects of her life being discussed without her. James loves these things about Lily. Her fierce independence is her sexiest quality in his opinion.

However, James also knows that while as much as Lily epitomizes a modern independent woman, she also values tradition. While she would never openly admit it, James knows that Lily loves it when he takes charge of a situation, how he always puts her first, how he's protective of her, and how he loves to take care of her. She can do all of this for herself by herself, but James' heart always soars at the small tug at the corner of her lips whenever he does one of those things. So, in that regard, the traditionalist in him, and the secret traditionalist in Lily, can't help but feel that Lily's parents, as the people she loves most in the world next to James, would want to be in the know about the biggest question their daughter will be asked in her life.

_Fuck_, mentally exasperated James. Lily could still get pissed about this. He then shot up his hand at an attempt to stress-grab his unruly hair, but in the process of grabbing his hair, he knocked over a photo frame standing on the side table next to the couch he was sitting on. Quickly scrambling to right the photo before the Evans' came down, he picked it up. However, he paused before setting it back down. The photo was of Lily.

It must have been taken last summer because she doesn't look much younger than she is now. It was of her curled up with a book under the tree in the Evans' backyard. Such an image was so familiar to James. He can't count the number of times he stumbled upon Lily reading a book under the tree by the Black lake when they were still in school. It was like she couldn't read for pleasure unless she was under a tree given the amount of times he caught her there. With a small smile now gracing his face, James set the photo back on the side table with a steady hand and a calm stomach. Even just a picture of Lily could do that for James.

At that moment, he could hear the unmistakable soft thuds of socked feet coming down carpeted stairs. Turning his head, he saw Mr. Evans returning with his wife in tow.

"Hello James, dear. Lovely to see you," she said kindly giving him a peck on the cheek as she approached him.

"It's good to see you too Mrs. Evans," blushed James in response to her greeting.

Mr. Evans did not make eye contact with him as he made his way over to the couch across from the one James was sitting on making James more sure that he knew what this was about.

"What can we do for you sweetheart?" inquired Mrs. Evans with a sweet smile.

Mr. Evans was still avoiding his eyes and was instead fixated on the carpet, making James' stomach butterflies slowly begin to flutter again.

With a deep breath, James spoke, "As much as I respect and cherish Lily's independence and ability to make her own choices, you are both the two people she loves most in the world…Other than me of course," James added with a cocky smirk to Mrs. Evans, who chuckled in response to his joke. Mr. Evans was now glaring at the carpet.

James cleared his throat nervously once he saw that glare, and decided to switch gears back to seriousness and to stay on seriousness, "uhhh…right…now that being said, again Lily makes her own choices about her life, but because she loves you both so much, your opinions about her choices matter to her. So while she doesn't yet know that this choice is available to her, I want her to know that you both approve of it before I offer her this choice." Mr. Evans' glare was only sharpening, so screw the butterflies and the bludgers—a hoard of angry Hungarian horntails were now taking residence in his stomach.

James took another deep breath to try and calm his thundering heart which he was quite sure could be heard all the way over in America, "So, with that, I hope I can get your blessings…um from both of you…in asking Lily to marry me," James sucked in another breath as he finished his statement, and held it as he waited for their response.

Mrs. Evans responded almost right away, "Oh James! This is so exciting! Of course we would love it if you and Lily got married. I mean, you're bit a young, but you've known each other so long, and you make each other happy."

James just smiled back at her with glassy eyes behind his glasses. He didn't realize how much he needed the approval not just for Lily, but for himself as well until he heard it from her.

Then his heart stopped as Mr. Evans started speaking—looking James straight in the eye.

"Darling, please don't speak for both of us. I'm sorry James, but I've made a promise to my daughter, and it is for that reason that you can never have my blessing to marry her."

James' shock was consuming. He knew Mr. Evans wasn't particularly fond of him, but he believed it was just because he was sleeping with his youngest daughter, not because he actually disapproved of him. Adrenaline started coursing through James' body, but despite the heart-aching rush that was practically paralyzing him, he responded calmly, "Sir, if this is about you, as her father, promising to protect her, I assure you, that not only would I never get in the way of that, but I will protect her too just as she protects me." James' tone became increasingly desperate, "Please Mr. Evans, I only want to make her happy, and I know I can do just that."

"I know, but protecting her is not the promise I am speaking of here."

"What promise are you talking about? Don't let the poor boy suffer for your stubbornness. If you won't give him your blessing, you better give him a damn good reason," protested Mrs. Evans.

Mr. Evans bowed his head, rubbed a hand over his face, and let it out with a heavy sigh, "The summer after Lily's first year at Hogwarts she begged me to promise her to never let you marry her. No matter what," he finished in a tired voice.

James just sat there. The only indication that he gave to show that he had actually heard what Mr. Evans said was that his eyes were as wide as saucers. _Is this guy fucking kidding me?_ James thought to himself. _Lily was fucking twelve! _If his parents still held things he said when he was twelve against him, he was pretty sure James would have his broomstick destroyed for finally cleaning up his act and becoming head boy.

Mrs. Evans, however, after her momentary shock at her husband's admission began to laugh.

Mr. Evans glared at his wife, "What on earth could be funny to you? This is no laughing matter."

The laughing abruptly stopped. Mrs. Evans stared at her husband in utter disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking," she practically begged.

"Of course not! I would never joke about a promise made to either of my daughters!" bellowed Mr. Evans.

"Not about the promise you daft fool!" yelled back Mrs. Evans, and with that yell, James had never before been so reminded of Lily by another person. Mrs. Evans continued, "Tell me that you're not actually serious about _keeping_ a promise made to a _twelve-year-old_."

"Again, I would never joke about a promise made to my daughter."

"Oh dear lord!" Mrs. Evans exasperated with rolling eyes, "You do realize that if I had known you when I was twelve then I probably would've asked my father to promise me to the same thing. And let's not forget that you once also promised Lily that you would sleep in her closet every night until the monsters went away, but we both know that you snuck away after she fell asleep each night."

"Well that's because the monsters went away by the time I left," replied Mr. Evans stubbornly.

"My point still stands darling, you can't hold the requests of a twelve-year-old against the young man sitting in front of you here today."

It was as if Mr. Evans was reminded of James' presence, as he returned his glare back at the boy that sought to break a promise.

James took this as his cue to chime in, "If I may sir, I…uuhh…respect your…um…determination on keeping your promise to Lily, but I think…no…I know Lily sees things differently now. Also, we both know that, promise or not, Lily will marry me if she wants to, and I am pretty sure she does otherwise I wouldn't be asking."

"And what makes you think that my daughter, the girl who once claimed that she'd have to have gone crazy to ever want to you, wants to marry you boy?" inquired Mr. Evans menacingly.

James laughed. That sounded like something Lily would say. He paused before answering the question, thinking carefully about his words. While he knew he didn't need it, he still wanted Mr. Evans' blessing. He wanted his future father-in-law to know, that the man that he is today, is worthy, as anyone could ever be, for Lily.

"We're in love, and there's a war going on." James's shoulders stooped with a heavy sigh at this knowledge, "this war has put everything into perspective for the both of us in terms of what matters most, and that's each other. You both know Lily," James smiled fondly, "she doesn't do anything half-assed. She loves with everything she has, and we've both been looking for ways to show that our love for one another is certain when the war has made everything else uncertain, and I believe one way to do that is marriage, and I think she would agree with me there."

Mr. Evans' shoulders too stooped with the heavy burden of war. He looked at the boy who so clearly loved his love his daughter, and thought about his promise to Lily.

When Lily first told him in a letter from Hogwarts just last October that she was dating the infamous James Potter, he spit out his morning coffee in shock much to Petunia's utter disgust. However, he kept quiet thinking that Lily would come to her senses and remember what she once begged of him. Yet Lily's genuine feelings for James became harder and harder to deny as the days of then dating him turned from days, to weeks, to months to now a year. Clearly, Lily either didn't even remember the promise or just simply didn't care about it. Whenever she spoke about James on the phone or at one of their afternoon teas, her love for James permeated every aspect of her being. She couldn't contain it if she tried. It was in the way her eyes lit up as she spoke his name, or the way her voice would always have a hint of mirth in it as she told him stories about their time together.

James was right, Lily does love with everything she has. And his Lily wouldn't love just anyone, it was clear that James had grown up alongside with Lily's opinion of him. So deep down, Mr. Evans knew the promise was moot early on in their relationship. Nonetheless, like any loving father with a daughter, he stubbornly held on to any somewhat valid excuse he had to stop his little girl from becoming a woman. Lily would be so mad at him if she ever found out about this. _As she should_, his conscious spat at him.

Not wanting to disappoint his daughter by denying her something she possibly wants, Mr. Evans looked back up to James with a heavy heart, "You're a good man James. A better man than the one it seemed you might've become given the type of boy you were." James held his head down as a shameful blush colored his cheeks, "So," Mr. Evans cleared his throat conspicuously to get James to look him in the eye as he said this, "I guess if Lily's okay with me breaking the promise, I can make this one exception for her. So you have my blessing, but only if she says yes to marrying you."

James just nodded in complete shock with the turn events. To him, it just looked like Mr. Evans went from hating him to grudgingly accepting him all in the span of a few minutes.

Mrs. Evans, at an attempt to diffuse the lingering tension, clapped her hands in excitement, "Wonderful! How and when are you going to ask James dear?"

"James! You didn't actually believe him did you!?" Lily barked with absolute mirth in her eyes.

"He can be so bloody convincing when he wants to! You of all people know that!"

Lily guffawed. James usually would've been annoyed that she was laughing at him, but when she laughed like that, he couldn't help but laugh with her.

As soon as Lily's laughter subsided to the point where she was no longer in danger of laughing off the cliff, she and James continued their walk along the Cliffs of Cornwall hand in hand.

It was a rare sunny English day, so James suggested that they apparate to Cornwall, just the two of the them, and enjoy a walk together. It reminded Lily of when they first started dating, and they would just walk around the Hogwarts grounds talking, teasing and laughing for hours. It's how she fell in love with him.

"Do you think Dumbledore ever trims his beard, or is that tip at the end of it, his virgin stubble from when he was a tween?" questioned Lily seriously.

James eyebrows scrunched together in thought, "I mean the ends of his beard are quite brittle. So I bet that his virgin stubble…like…crumbled off long ago maybe? Still, I doubt he's ever trimmed. Grooming doesn't seem to be high on the man's list of priorities now, if ever."

"See, that's where I think you're wrong!" exclaimed Lily. They'd had an argument about whether or not Dumbledore cares about his appearance only too many times before. "Look at the man's robes James! They're always so impeccably stylish. I bet Dumbledore takes great pride in his appearance. The man is a Gryffindor after all."

"Gryffindor's pride does not count pride in appearances Evans. Pride is much deeper than such shallow concerns."

"Of course it does Potter," scoffed Lily rolling her eyes up to the beautifully clear blue sky. "You, of all people, are telling me that Gryffindors don't take pride in their appearance!? James, forget the fact that you've lived with Sirius for over seven years, but you used to purposefully mess up your hair to give it that tousled windswept look you used to think was soooo sexy," declared Lily with a sarcastic tone towards the end of her sentence.

James put his hand to his heart in mock hurt, "Lily, love of my life, do you mean to tell me that after all these years of me purposefully and artfully messing up my hair, you don't find it sexy?"

Lily's eyes just twinkled back at him teasingly as she smirked at him.

"I beg to differ. I mean, Hell, you were messing it up yourself in bed just this morning," argued James. He stopped walking and stopped Lily from walking forward herself by dragging her into his embrace. He then put his forehead against hers. Lily's breath caught at the closeness, and she leaned further into his embrace, closing her eyes. His warm breath washed over her wind-chilled face as whispered, "Just admit it, you think me messing up my hair is unbearably sexy. You even thought that when you allegedly hated me back in the day."

Lily's eyes opened, and she leaned back slightly to look him in the eye and grin as she replied, "In your dreams Potter. You and I both know that something big would have to happen for me to admit that." Lily then pecked James' bewildered face on the lips, and started walking again, "C'mon James, we should probably apparate back soon."

"Marry me."

Lily then turned around with an expression that mimicked James' bewildered one from moments ago. She wasn't sure if what she heard was right. The volume of the blowing wind and wavy ocean could've muffled any sound. "What?" She asked James, carefully walking back to where he stood at the edge of the cliff with his hand in his pocket and a look of pure determination on his face.

It was then when James knelt down on one knee, and lovingly reached for Lily's left hand to hold in both of his as soon as she reached him.

"Lily, there's a lot of fucked up shit happening right now, and with this war, not much is certain. But I am certain that I love you, and that you make me happier than anyone ever should be in a war. So, Lily Marie Evans, will you marry me?" He then pulled a small red velvet box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a ring.

Lily looked from him to the ring with tears in her eyes as she vigorously nodded her head, "Yes!" She screamed into the billowing winds and crashing waves. James chuckled in absolute glee as he shakily slid the ring on her third finger and stood up to pull her in for a celebratory kiss.

After a few blissful moments of heated kissing, Lily pulled back and breathlessly said, "Also, of course I thought you messing up your hair was sexy. I mean, annoying at times, but still, incredilby sexy," she laughed.

"I fucking knew it Evans," he chuckled before he went back to kissing her.

Mr. Evans quickly made his way over to the ringing telephone in the living room, "Hello?" he answered as he picked it up and held it to his ear.

"Hi Daddy," replied his youngest daughter.

"Hello poppet! How are you my love?" he asked.

"Brilliant actually!" Lily continued, "I would have loved to tell you this in person, but since I have to work all week, and I want you and mum to know as soon as possible, I am settling for over the phone, but James and I are getting married!"

Mr. Evans sighed. Just as he was about to reply with his reluctant congratulations, Lily cut him off before he could.

"Also, James told me about what happened when he asked for yours and mums blessing." She chuckled. "You didn't really take my request seriously did you? I was honestly shocked you even remembered me asking you that!"

Mr. Evans spluttered, "Lily you were a very tenacious child; so we were forced to take everything you said seriously. Regardless, any request of my daughter's is one I would go to any lengths to fulfill. You should know that darling."

Lily was still chuckling, "Oh come on dad! You just wanted to give James trouble. While I appreciate you honoring years old requests, I will let you off the hook for any others you may still have up your sleeve. I have learned to settle my own issues by now."

Mr. Evans smiled, "Okay, darling. Whatever you say."

Lily laughed again.

"I am happy that you are happy my dear, and I am sure your mother will be thrilled when she gets home. Any thoughts on when you will have the wedding?" He asked.

Lily's constant chuckles suddenly ceased making Mr. Evans nervous, "Actually…Daddy?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I do have one more thing for you to promise, and I will be holding you to this one for sure."

Mr. Evans gulped anxiously, "What is it Lily?"

"Will you promise to walk me down the aisle?"

He couldn't stop the tears forming in his eyes, "I promise."


End file.
